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Hen Hud was running out of time and at-bats against Harrison pitcher Sam Angilletta yesterday. The junior blanked Hen Hud through five innings, but that all changed in the sixth inning. Hen Hud strung together five consecutive hits, resulting in five runs and sending the fifth seed to a 5-2 win over third-seeded Harrison in a Section 1 Class A semifinal. Hen Hud, which eliminated Harrison from sectionals for a second consecutive year, goes to second-seeded Eastchester for a semifinal tomorrow, 4:30 p.m.
The other semi has fifth-seeded Pelham playing at three-time defending champ and 2010 Class A state titlist, Pearl River. A win over Eastchester would send Hen Hud to its third Class A championships since 2007 and second consecutive. Last year, Pearl River defeated Hen Hud for the title. Her windup was fast, which made her velocity look faster, so we were deceived by that, Hen Hud coach Kurt Thomas said. She was a good pitcher and she was hitting her spots. We had to focus on her release, keep the right shoulder in and drive the ball to right field. Katie Ross initiated the rally with a single and Megan Jahoda followed with a single. Rachel Buckner had the key at-bat. Falling behind in the count, 1-2, she blooped a single to center, scoring Ross.
Winning pitcher Julie Gaspar stepped in and drilled a double to deep center, chasing home Jahoda and Buckner for a 3-2 lead. Cassidy Boyle singled home Gaspar and she would score on a throwing error. Harrison scored twice in the first inning on an Amanda Evangelista double and Alijah Webb triple. After that, Gaspar got stingy, finishing with a four-hitter. Julia was hitting her spots and was using her two-seemer as her strike-out pitch, Thomas said. We knew from watching them against Pearl River, their tendencies and how to pitch them.
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